Girl with Pearl Earring by Vermeer, Parastone

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The Girl With The Pearl Earring by Vermeer (circa 1665) The dreamy girl with the pearl earring became an icon of Western painting during the 20th century. The small painting has an amazing composition, Vermeer's famous light and unparalleled brushwork, and above all, an unusual, very appealing portrait of a sweet, ordinary, working class girl. The painting was purchased by the art collector des Tombes in 1883 for a mere 30 cents at an auction and was left to the The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis in The Hague in 1902.

This statue is a three dimensional adaptation of Vermeer's painting, Girl with the Pearl Earring. Her magnificent headpiece is recreated in rich blue and an actual faux pearl earring dangles from her ear. Statue is made from hand-painted resin. Base is black metal. Description card included. Part of the Parastone Museum Collection. Measures: 3.5"H x 3.75"W x 3"D.

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)Although Vermeer is now considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age, very little is known about his life. His father, originally a satin weaver, traded in art and also ran an inn at the time of Johannes' birth. After getting married in 1653, Vermeer lived in his mother-in-law's large house in Delft. The couple has some 14 children together. Initially, Vermeer painted large history pieces as did many of his contemporaries. However, he soon focused on interior scenes which would later make him famous. He was commissioned to create the latter by a select group of collectors of whom Pieter van Ruijven was the most important. The works were expensive because Vermeer could paint no more than three of them per year. Moreover, he utilized expensive pigments such as lapis lazuli. Even with his prodigious talent, Vermeer had difficulty supporting his large family with by selling his paintings, dealing some art and running an inn. He was rapidly forgotten after his death, only to be rediscovered over the course of the 19th century.